I Can't Believe My Queenslayer Is This Cute!
by Piraxis
Summary: Ruby Rose, a normal revenant living in Vein, has gone and saved her world. For longer than she can remember, she has been fighting against demons that want nothing more than to rip her apart. It seemed as if this relationship between Ruby and her foes would continue forever, but she reached the end of the fight. Now, Ruby finds herself alone in a forest beneath a broken moon.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own RWBY or Code Vein

* * *

Trees.

When the girl regained awareness, trees were all that she could see.

However, she was only allowed a moment to process that information before collapsing to her knees in pain. It felt as though her eyes were being torn out of her skull, and no matter how strongly she tried pressing her hands against them to keep her eyes where they were, the pain just wouldn't stop.

Even worse, it was as if they had suddenly been replaced with pockets of molten lava. A whimper of distress escaped her mouth as there was no relief for the agony.

The pain was so great… that she didn't notice when her body hit the slightly chilly, leaf-covered ground.

Darkness overtook her not long after, pulling her into the sweet embrace of sleep.

#

"Take your time," the other figure in the clearing said. "Your body needs to adapt to this new world. I just it wasn't so painful for you." She glanced at the surrounding trees before continuing, "Regardless, I will protect you until you are ready."

Although the girl said that, she did not turn away from her companion. She did not take up the defensive position that would have been expected in this case. Instead, the girl maneuvered herself so that she was standing at the head of the other figure and knelt down. Gently, the girl then lifted the other girl's head and placed it into her lap.

"I hope this will provide you at least some comfort," she said as she moved to brush her hand through the unconscious girl's black hair that faded to red at the tips. It was a small comfort, but it was the only one that the girl could spare.

Even then, her actions still had the desired effect. In response to the soft ministrations, the unconscious girl's pained expression relaxed slightly.

A small victory.

The rustling of the bushes surrounding the clearing ruined the moment however. Peace was shattered.

A tactless creature of roiling darkness crashed its way through the underbrush and into sight of the two. Although it looked lupine in appearance, it couldn't be called a wolf by any stretch. The bone plates sticking out of it and covering its face would have made that clear if the darkness comprising its body hadn't.

The creature had been drawn to the troubled emotions of the still unconscious girl. Even if the lap pillow had set her somewhat at ease, the damage was done. Grim creatures such as itself had been attracted like moths to a flame.

Still though, the girl did not stop running her hand through the other girl's hair. Not once did she cast a glance in the creature's direction, simply content to look over her companion.

Such blatant dismissal should have caused the beast to adopt a more cautious attitude towards the girls, but it was still young. It was arrogant in its youth, and the idea that the two could be dangerous could never cross its mind.

Perhaps if it had, the result would have been different. After all, for someone to not even spare a glance towards one of the foes of humanity… well, they either had to have complete confidence in their abilities or were insane.

Unfortunately for the beast, the hospital gown wearing girl sitting peacefully before it was a case of the former. She was a monster created by the brightest minds in order to protect humanity from other monsters, driven insane by her own immense strength.

Of course she wouldn't have looked at the mockery of a wolf. It was the same situation as a singular ant facing down an elephant. The elephant wouldn't even note the ant's existence.

Regardless, the creature was too young to understand this, and decided to not bother with any further thoughts and just charge in.

It wasn't to be. In the time it took for the creature's brain to create the signals that it would send to the muscles, the beast had disappeared. It just completely vanished from sight. It just ceased to be. In its place though, a massive white thorn was embedded into the ground.

Although the now deceased creature could not be called a wolf, it had still possessed some of the same traits. It was lupine in appearance, after all, and had run into the clearing on all fours. Besides that though, the angry roars of similar creatures just beyond the boundary of the clearing was far too reminiscent of wolves' tendency to form packs.

Letting a soft sigh slip from her mouth, the girl finally tore her gaze away from the one she cared for. It was simple. Punishment was necessary. The beasts would die for interrupting her moment.

The girl's narrowed eyes, with the black sclera surrounding the piercing blue irises, would have made for an intimidating sight, but the beasts rushing into the clearing were not created to feel intimidated. Even then, they veered well clear of the mysterious white thorn that had so suddenly killed their youngest.

It was not the first time the pack had gone up against someone as strong as the mysterious girl seemed to be. Some of the members were old enough to have developed enough intelligence to formulate strategies to take down such enemies. They might have been relatively simple strategies, but the pack had success with the plans before.

Quickly deciding to use the one strategy that had worked before, the pack split up and ran in various patterns to try and confuse the girl. The goal was to put enough distance between each member so that whatever weapon the girl had would only be able to hit one of them at a time. It could be said to be a gamble because they did not know how often she could fire off the thorns, but the alpha was still young enough and confident enough that the pack would win.

That said, the smarter members of the pack still stayed behind with the alpha and used the shadows between trees to get into a flanking position on the girl. They would let the younger ones take to the field and draw their prey's focus.

It wasn't enough.

There was nothing they could have done.

They were just simply outmatched in every regard.

Although the beasts tore up chunks of grass and dirt with every step they took, the white haired girl was not afraid. If anything, she was amused that the beasts had thought they could defeat her and take her charge. She leisurely raised the hand not playing with the other girl's hair, and the world stopped.

An array of thorns, each one large in size than the creatures themselves, hung above the girl. None of the beasts could escape the Queen's gaze. No flanking maneuver would work against her. Every thorn was pointed towards the pack, even the members still in the shadows.

Everything stilled. The power radiating from those thorns caused the beasts' movements to still. There wasn't any wind. No birds chirped, and not even the insects dared make a noise. It was as if the world itself could feel the power contained within those thorns.

Faced with inescapable death pointing straight towards them, the beasts finally felt fear. They didn't know how to react. It felt as if they tried to run, an action that went against their very existence, they still wouldn't survive. Even when they had fought against those more powerful than they were, they had never encountered a situation like this. It was a situation where they were just completely outclassed. Nothing in their base instructions told them how to deal with it.

They would never get the chance to learn either.

"Pathetic," the girl muttered before snapping her fingers.

The signal was given… and death moved at her command.

The only effect of the battle, if it could even be called one, was that the Queen's long white hair had been blown into disarray by the resulting wind. It didn't interfere with her vision though, so the girl paid it no mind and returned her gaze to the other girl, a peaceful smile on her face.

Fortunately for the other grim creatures inhabiting the forest, that pack had been the only ones close enough to sense the pain from the unconscious girl. Since there wouldn't be any further distractions, all that was left was to wait for the sleeping girl to wake up.

Smiling softly, the Queen began to sing a melody.

#

The red and black haired girl woke to the sound of soft singing. It was a familiar song, one that evoked memories from her adventures in another world, and she could not stop the tears from streaming down her face in response. The song, and the memories tied to it, were far too saddening. Still, it wouldn't do to remain lying in the dirt, so the girl sat up and wiped away her tears.

Once she had composed herself enough, the girl looked in the direction the singing was coming from. There, slowly fading away into motes of light, was someone she never thought she'd see again. It was the girl named Cruz Silva, and at least this time, she didn't appear to be trying to kill everything around her.

"C-Cruz!" the girl shouted out. She scrambled to her feet and ran the short distance separating the two.

"Hello," Cruz smiled as she reached out and gently thumbed away the tears that had refreshed themselves on her friend's face.

"But how are you here, and why are you disappearing!?" the girl cried out while looking frantically at the disappearing girl. If she could have stopped it, she would have given anything to do so.

"I'm sorry. I truly wish I could remain here with you," Cruz apologized. "Perhaps we will meet again, but I confess that I do not know how."

"I'll find a way!" the girl forcefully declared. "I don't know how long it'll take, but I swear to you that I will find a way! You deserve it, Cruz!" She then paused for a moment before continuing in a much softer voice, "well, as long as you don't come back frenzied…"

"I'm sure that if I do, you will be able to stop me again," Cruz responded with a laugh. She then settled on a reassuring smile and said, "however, I will try my best not to be. I promise."

The black and red haired girl weakly smiled before saying, "I suppose I'll have to hold you to it. I'm really going to miss you though."

Although her entire body had been converted into motes of light, Cruz still sadly smiled at the other girl and managed to say, "And I will miss you just as much." Then, she was gone.

Now alone, the red and black haired girl let a sigh slip past her lips as she wiped the remaining tears from her face. There'd be time for her to be sad later.

"Now then," the girl started as she looked around the clearing she had appeared in. "Where am I?"

Raising her hand to her chin in thought, the girl said, "I don't recognize this place, so let's think then. What's the last thing I can remember?"

The girl turned her thoughts inward. Now that the pain had subsided and Cruz had disappeared, it was time to make sure everything was still there.

The girl smacked her face with her palm and shouted, "Io! What happened to Io after that?" The girl stomped her foot in self-targeted frustration before continuing, "agh! I have no idea what happened to her! Is she alright? Is she dead? How could I have forgotten about Io!?"

"No, calm down me," the girl shouted at herself. "I can't think like that. I'm obviously not anywhere near Io and the rest, and I still have no idea where I am or how I got here, so I shouldn't be agonizing over what-ifs."

The girl looked around at the forest and then up to the glimpses of sky that she was able to see. Reaching a decision she said, "First things first, I need to find a place to stay before night arrives. If any lost find me out here, then I might be in trouble."

With a plan set, the girl nodded to herself, and moved to collect the few items she had seen earlier while surveying the clearing. Luckily, the girl still remembered what the three items were, and she was glad to have them all with her in this new place.

The first item was her purifier mask. It was a protective mask that filtered miasma so that people like herself would not have any issues breathing the air. However, the fact that it was on the ground and not on her face gave her pause.

"Wait a minute," she started, "the air here is… clean? Does that mean I'm outside the veil?"

She shook her head and put that thought away before walking up to the mask and attaching it to her belt. Even if the air was clean, the girl wasn't about to leave the mask behind.

The second item she walked to was something called a Fang Gear. '_Though,_' she thought to herself, '_I know some people liked to call it a Blood Veil as well._'

Regardless, the gear was a protective piece of clothing that was meant to be worn like a mantle. Dark black in color, the gear was accented with gold and had a high collar. It included a gauntlet that protected the right arm, and a pair of pauldrons which connected to a strangely cut cape designed to look like a pair of bat wings. The right side of the cape did not extend much further than the girl's shoulder blades, a design choice meant not to interfere with the swinging of a weapon in the right hand. The left side of the cape extended and tapered to a point that rested mere inches above the ground. A golden clasp connected to material that wrapped around the girl's elbow. The attachment to the elbow meant that the cape could be drawn up as a slight shield against enemy attacks if necessary. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it would do the job.

The Fang Gear was designed to provide protection against a variety of attacks its user would theoretically have to face. Because of that, it was created with materials strong enough to provide a decent amount of protection, but still light enough not to interfere with the range of movement of the user. In addition, since this was the girl's personal Fang Gear, it was reinforced with certain metals to provide even better protection.

In no uncertain terms, it was a required piece of equipment for the girl, and she wasted no time in slipping on all of the pieces. Once everything was properly in place and fastened properly, she let slip a content hum.

That left only one other item in the clearing, and the item that stood out far more than the other two. After all, it was difficult to miss a monument of gold. It stood proudly in the clearing, challenging all those who would stand before it. Still, it was just as familiar to the girl as the other items were.

"The Argent Wolf King's Blade," the girl said fondly as she approached the sword.

While a massive blade, it was not just a lump of metal either. The blade was finely crafted. Empty, vein-like channels ran to the edges of the blade, originating from a device in the middle of the sword that started in the guard and ran the entire length of the weapon. The device, connected to four sets of three canisters, would pump the contents of the attached containers, each double the size of the girl's fist, throughout the veins in the blade. However, at the present moment, there was nothing to pump out.

Although the girl had received the sword after being forced to put down a good man that had been corrupted by madness, she greeted the blade like an old friend, stepping up to the monstrous work and firmly gripping the hilt with her right hand. She felt it natural to hold, and now that the girl had all her equipment again, she felt energized. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

Regardless, the girl told herself that it wasn't a good idea to stand there smiling dumbly at her sword, so she withdrew it from the ground and brought it to rest upon her right shoulder with ease. It might have required a shake or two to dislodge any extra dirt, but otherwise the blade was spotless.

"Anyway," the girl said as she took one last look around the clearing, "now that I've got my gear back let's get out of this forest."

That said, it wasn't like the girl knew which way lead to shelter. She could have climbed a tree to see if she spotted anything, but she had just picked up her blade and was stubborn in that she did not want to have to set the blade down again just to climb a tree. There was only one option left to her.

"My gut says that way," the girl pointed in a random direction with her left hand.

#

The sun had nearly dipped beneath the horizon by the time the girl found any sign of civilization. Since night would have made traveling through the forest nearly impossible, it was fortunate that she had found something.

Partially visible between the few trees still in front of her, stood a log cabin. It might not have been the city the girl was hoping for, but it _was_, at least, a sign that she was one step closer to putting the forest behind her.

"Finally!" the girl cried out. "I knew my gut was right!"

Seeing the light shining through the windows, she added, "even better, the lights are on! There's got to be _someone_ there who can point me in the right direction!"

The girl cleared the last few trees separating her from the cabin and stopped to observe the building that could now be seen in its entirety.

It was a fairly large two-story log cabin, with what appeared to be a chimney stack rising from the roof. In addition, the girl could just make out a separate building fairly close to the cabin, but there was not enough light to be able to guess as to what its purpose was.

'_A shack of some kind?_' the girl thought to herself before starting to move again.

Although it did not take the girl long to cross the distance to the mysterious building, the new perspective did not shine any light on its purpose. The girl mainly wanted a distraction from all the trees she had to look at during her trip here. Just the simple fact that it _wasn__'t_ a tree was enough for her. It was something new.

Still, the shack didn't really matter. The girl was just excited that she had found others. She had been thinking about what she was going to do if there wasn't anyone else. Maybe she'd try to find her way back to the city under the veil. Although she seemed to be in the outside world, she'd rather find her friends if there was no one else out here.

The girl shook her head to clear those thoughts, and continued her journey towards the cabin's door. It didn't matter what her friends were up to. She knew that she'd return to them eventually. Right now however, the important thing was seeing if the person living in the cabin could help her out.

It did not take the girl long to reach the door as there were no distractions along the way. She had thought she heard howling off in the distance, but it was too far away to be a real concern… even if the howls didn't sound like any wolves she knew.

"Alright, me," she started, "it's simple. Just knock on the door and ask for directions to the nearest town." She thought for a second before continuing, "if the town is too far away, then see if I can crash on a couch for the night or something."

Taking a breath to calm her nerves, the girl knocked on the door.

"Huh?" the girl heard in response. Louder this time, and directed towards her, the voice said, "Qrow, that better not be you."

Seeing no reason not to answer, the girl replied, "Uh, no. I'm lost and could use some directions into town."

She received no verbal response, but the door opened and a man appeared. The man was had blond hair with a small patch of similarly colored hair on his chin. He stood about half a head taller than she was, and wore a simple button up t-shirt and cargo shorts. In the girl's opinion, the man seemed like an easy going kind of person. She just hoped that was the case.

"Uh, hello," the girl started sheepishly, "I'm sorry about this, but I got lost in the woods and finally found this place. I was hoping you could point me to the nearest town."

'_Impossible_,' he thought to himself, '_it couldn__'t be her._'

Considering the girl's words, the man observed the person in front of him. He was trying to understand what he was seeing. She looked so similar to someone he used to know.

'_No, as much as I want it to be, this girl isn__'t her,_' the man thought to himself. The person he was hoping for had been gone for far too long, and was older than the girl in front of him regardless. She was also older than the other one that looked like her.

He shook his head to clear his straying thoughts and noticed the girl's nervousness. To put her at ease, he put on an easy-going smile and replied, "Ah, sorry. You just caught me off-guard for a second. You look like someone I used to know." The man then paused and scratched his chin in thought before he continued, "Still, what were you doing out in the forest?" He glanced at her sword and said, "it looks like you can defend yourself, but I don't know why anyone would want to be out there this late."

"Ah," the girl laughed awkwardly, "would you believe me if I said I woke up and found myself in a clearing? I'm not really sure how I got there…"

"Hm," the man considered it before shrugging. It could have just been a prank her friends pulled on her, or it could have been something worse. Still, the girl looked to be alright, so he continued, "anyway, the boat into town doesn't leave this late at night. Next one won't leave until tomorrow morning."

"Oh no," the girl whispered, biting the knuckle of her left index finger as she wondered what she would do now.

Luckily, the man was kind and saw her distress. He offered, "Listen, kid. I can't in good conscience send you off when you don't have anywhere else to go. I've got a couch you can crash on for the night, and then we can see about getting you back to town when the boats are back up and running."

The girl was stunned by the offer and owlishly blinked her silver eyes. She quickly recovered though and replied, "eh? Ah, no. I wouldn't want to impose." The girl shifted the blade on her shoulder and continued, "I can just find a good tree to sleep in." Though she said that, the girl really didn't want to spend the night in a tree.

The man, not put off by her hesitance, laughed and said, "Nah, you wouldn't be imposing. Trust me, kid, it's fine. This place has got plenty of room, especially now that my daughters are off to school." The man eyed the sword for a moment before turning back to the girl. "Anyway, the name's Tai."

'_Yes!__' _the girl cheered internally. '_Don__'t have to sleep outside tonight!' _

She responded, "If you're sure then, Tai. I… I think I will take you up on that then. Thank you. My name is Ruby."


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own RWBY or Code Vein

* * *

"My name is Ruby."

Tai blinked in response. "Uh, sorry, but I don't think I heard you correctly. What did you say your name was?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice.

Ruby, unsure of the sudden tension, raised her guard slightly and responded, "um, okay. My name is Ruby… Ruby Rose."

"Hah," the man laughed before his eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. He continued, "see, that's funny because I already know someone with that name, and you definitely aren't her." He growled, "I wanted to help you, kid. If this is all just some joke, then it isn't funny."

Ruby wasn't sure what the issue was, but she knew she needed to de-escalate the situation before Tai injured himself. Besides, before the issue with her name came up, the man was willing to give her shelter for the night and get her to the nearest town in the morning. She backed up a few steps and said with complete sincerity, "wait! I promise, this isn't a joke! I swear that my name _is_ Ruby Rose."

"Yeah, right," the man scoffed. "You sound sincere, kid, but you shouldn't have said the name of my daughter. Now get out of here before I call the cops." With that said, the man unfolded his arms and attempted to shut the door.

Before he could though, the girl interrupted. "Please," she begged, "I don't have anywhere else to go. Is it because I'm a Revenant?"

Tai slowly opened the door back up to look at the girl. With an eyebrow raised, he asked, "I probably shouldn't bother since this is part of your joke, but what the heck are you talking about? Heck is a Revenant? Is that the name of your little gang?"

Ruby, eyes wide due to the man's response, cautiously planted her sword into the ground so it wouldn't go anywhere and then held up her hands non-threateningly. She hesitantly explained, "what? No. You know, Revenants? Protectors of humanity and the ones to fight against The Lost?"

Tai looked at the girl blankly. He responded, "not sure what these lost are, but Huntsmen are the protectors of humanity, kid."

"Huh, but that's impossible," the girl muttered as she looked at the man who had said things she couldn't comprehend. "I know we were trapped by the Gaol of Blood for a long time, but Revenants had to have existed outside it."

"Gaol of Blood?" the man whispered to himself. Louder, he said, "I'm not sure what this Gaol of Blood thing you're talking about is kid, but I know I've never heard of any Revenants."

The girl tilted her head, eyes still wide. "What?" she asked, "the Gaol of Blood was massive. There's no way you wouldn't have seen its blood mists."

Shaking his head, the man replied, "kid, are you on drugs or something? There's never been anything like a so-called blood mist anywhere. Look, you seem to really believe what you're saying, but if it existed we'd have seen it by now," the man said, not unkindly. He saw that the girl was legitimately distressed by what he was saying, but he still couldn't abandon the idea that everything she was saying was just leading to a joke of some kind. That, or she was on some kind of drug.

The girl couldn't understand why the man didn't know what she was talking about. However, it was while she was trying to think of something else to say that the moon made itself known. This was enough to distract the girl, the gentle light snapping her out of the spiraling thoughts. What awaited her gaze was not what she expected though.

"What!?" the girl yelled out, falling backwards and landing on her rear.

"What now, kid?" the man asked.

She looked back at the man, eyes wide and her body tensed before she pointed up at the moon and shouted, "what the hell happened to the moon!? Why is it shattered!?"

More sure that the girl was just on a trip, the man raised his eyebrow and asked, "what do you mean? It's always looked like that. Really, kid, now you're starting to worry me. If you need medical help, I can call a doctor."

Ruby did not respond and fell completely backwards, her back hitting the soft earth beneath her.

Tai's eyes widened and he fully opened the door. '_Ah crap,_' he thought to himself. He stepped out and rushed towards the girl, stopping when he heard it.

In a small voice, the dazed girl said, "my moon isn't shattered. It's whole." The girl paused, and Tai thought she was done when she continued, "w-where am I?"

Ta, approached the girl slower this time. He was cautious and thought something else was going on, but he knelt next to her and realized that the girl was gone. She had passed out. He looked around to see if any of her friends were nearby, hoping it was still just a prank instead of some kind of trip, but he didn't see anyone. He sighed and quickly decided on a course of action.

Picking the girl up, the man said, "I guess we'll just have to figure this all out when she wakes up. At this point, I'd rather it be a joke than anything else. If she's telling the truth…" He looked uneasily at the girl in his arms. "It couldn't be. Right?"

He made his way back inside the house and placed the girl on the well-used green couch in the cabin's living room. It wasn't as comfy as bed, but it would do. He also made sure to place her on her side, just in case.

'_Why__'d this have to happen right before I left on a mission?_' Tai asked himself silently. He sighed and turned away, deciding to get some blankets and just get some sleep on the other couch in the room. It was better to get some rest before tomorrow, and it was a good way to keep an ear out for the girl since she'd wake him up if she got up.

He settled into position, taking a glance at the girl to make sure she was still out, and closed his eyes. As his consciousness slipped away, he thought, '_at least that huge sword is still outside._'

#

The next morning found Ruby waking up and realizing she didn't recognize the ceiling above her. Still, she didn't feel injured, and wasn't restrained in any way, so she slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She realized then that the soft thing she had woke up on was a couch. Presumably, she was inside the cabin she came across last night.

She then decided to take a look around while she had the chance and observed the homely room she found herself in. It had a large fireplace that looked like it would keep the occupants of the room warm in the colder months. There was a staircase to her right that lead to a second story, where she heard some noises, but she couldn't tell what they were. In front of her appeared to be the kitchen/dining room, or at least she thought she saw appliances through the doorway. There was also a coffee table next to the couch she was on, and another couch beyond it.

'_Did Tai sleep there last night?__'_ the girl asked herself after seeing the blankets and pillows on the couch.

The creaking of old floorboards interrupted her thoughts. Although she could see the man walking down the stairs, she kept her eyes on the coffee table in front of her. She had passed out because the moon was shattered, and was embarrassed at the thought. Besides, the man did think she was crazy last night, so it was better to stay silent for the time being. It was only once the creaking had stopped that the girl turned to face the source of the noise.

"Morning, kid. Feeling any better," the man at the base of the stairs asked. Although he didn't look too hostile this time, the man had once again narrowed eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

Ruby hung her head and responded, "yes, and… I'm sorry for passing out like I did yesterday. The shock was just a bit too much."

"Again with that, kid?" the man sighed. "Listen, at this point, I think it best if I take you to someone who can help you. You're obviously confused, and I'd be well out of my depths to try and handle whatever it is you have going on."

The girl closed her eyes for a moment before sighing and opening them again, looking Tai in the eyes. "I know I sound crazy, but I understand why now. This isn't my world. I've no idea how I got here, and believe me I'd love to find that out myself, but this isn't the world I'm familiar with." She paused for a moment and continued, "assuming for a second that this was the same world, and that we were just outside the gaol, Revenants didn't exist, and The Lost didn't either, that still wouldn't explain why the moon looked like _that_. The moon would have been the same. It would have been whole."

Tai huffed, ready to explain to the silver-eyed girl in front of him that what she was saying was impossible, but he was interrupted before he could begin.

"Now then, I bet you were going to say something along the lines of it being impossible that I'm from another world. Since that's the case, and you say you've never heard of Revenants. Then," the girl began, "have you heard of the BOR Parasite? That's the base of what makes a Revenant."

The man tilted his head for a moment, deciding to humor the confused girl for a moment, before shaking it in response to Ruby's question. "No. Can't say I've heard of that either. Are you saying you've got one of these parasites in you right now?"

Ruby nodded. She informed the man, "that's right. The parasite is what's keeping me alive, though at a cost." She hesitated for a moment, but looked at the man and nodded to herself before continuing, "I suppose there's no harm in explaining, but the parasite brought me back to life. I was dead, but it brought me back somehow. There's no real harm as long as I can keep it satisfied with blood every so often. I retain my sanity if I do. The reason I don't mind it being where it is, is because it enhances my body and allows me to stand against The Lost."

Tai, hands having gone to a guard position in front of him, cautiously asked the girl, "wait wait wait. Disregarding whatever these lost are for a second, you mean to tell me that you're a vampire?"

Ruby scratched the back of her head and replied, "I guess? I'm not sure what a vampire is though."

The man shook his head before he said, "they suck blood from people and typically go and kill them in the process. They can turn into a swarm of bats, and are weak to garlic. Blah blah blah, you know?" He tilted his head for a moment before saying, "actually, I thought vampires had to be invited in to a home first."

"Oh," Ruby started, hoping that she could convince the man that she wasn't an enemy, "well, I can't turn into a swarm of bats, but I _can_ turn into mist temporarily. Also don't know about the garlic thing since I don't actually really need food or water anymore, and I'm not sure what you're talking about with needing an invite to enter a place. Still, I would _never_ drain a human dry. That would go against everything I am. Like I said before, Revenants are the protectors of humanity… and besides, I definitely don't need that much blood anyway."

Tai looked at the girl, shocked at her vehemence towards the idea of draining a person. Still, just that wasn't enough for him to trust this not-vampire in front of him, so he left his guard up. He asked the maybe-monster in the guise of a human, "okay… you look like you're telling the truth, but you're going to eat some garlic just to make sure." He paused, unsure from her wording, and asked, "you… can eat food, right?"

"Ah, yes. Although I don't need to, I can still eat and drink like humans do. It just isn't necessary since the parasite is keeping me alive and it gets its nutrients from blood," Ruby responded politely. She wasn't going to give Tai any reason to attack her.

Nodding to himself, he slowly backed into the kitchen, never allowing himself to turn his back to the girl. At the threshold though, he got curious and had to ask, "wait, how much blood _do _you need then?"

Sighing, the girl shook her head while watching the man cautiously make his way to the kitchen. Still, she replied to his question, "Only about 500 mL. That much will keep me sustained for about 2 months. Maybe enough blood to make someone light-headed, but that's about it. Also, before you ask, I had about that amount not long before I found myself here, so I'm not in danger of frenzying."

Tai backed into the kitchen to grab the garlic, but not before muttering under his breath, "frenzying? Right, because that doesn't sound dangerous." Still, the fact that the girl stated she only needed such a small amount of blood did allow the man to relax his guard slightly.

While he was gone, Ruby thought to herself, '_well, I guess at least he__'s starting to believe I'm not from this world? Even if he believes I'm some kind of blood sucking monster…' _She sighs,_'small victories, Rue. Small victories._'

She didn't have to wait long before Tai returned with a clove of garlic in hand. He still didn't trust the girl enough to directly hand it to her, so he tossed the clove her way, drawing a disappointed sigh. He wasn't going to take any risks. The Grimm were bad enough. There was no way he was going to let himself fall prey to a _vampire_ of all things… even if it's a weird vampire that looks like his daughter.

"If I eat this," the girl began, with a thoughtful look at Taiyang, "will you believe that I'm not going to suck your blood the moment you take your eyes off of me?"

Tai considered saying no, but in the end, nodded his head. He said, "if you eat that and survive, I guess we're square. Still won't believe you're from another world though."

She shook her head, a wry smile on her face before she popped the clove of garlic into her mouth. After swallowing the clove with no issue, the girl smiled at Taiyang. She figured she had passed the test. '_Still,_' Ruby thought to herself, '_that was some strong flavor. I__'d rather not do that again if I can help it._'

The man saw that the girl didn't burst into flames or anything else vampires might do after eating the garlic, so he relaxed his guard. It could have still been all just one big joke, but the more he talked with the girl, the less he believed that. It was why he had even considered the fact that she was a vampire in the first place.

"Now then," the girl started, "since you said you've never heard of Revenants, let me show you my fangs. Maybe that'll convince you."

With only that as his warning, Tai watched as the girl's eyes turned from silver to a glowing red before two fangs appeared inside her mouth. If he hadn't just seen her eat a clove of garlic, he would have started running for a wooden stake at this point. Even knowing that she didn't want to drain him, the sight was terrifying. It meant that everything she had talked about was probably true. She might actually be from another world.

"So, do you believe me now?" Ruby asked as she reverted back to her normal state, her eyes going back to silver and her fangs retracting. If this hadn't convinced the man, then she didn't know what would.

Tai slumped into the couch opposite hers and sighed. He said, "I'm still not sure about that other world stuff, but at the same time, it's kinda difficult not to believe you, kid. I know there are faunus that have fangs, but being able to retract them like that? That's not something I've seen before." He glanced up at her and asked, "are you sure this isn't a joke? You actually look like that an older version of my daughter, and you share the same name as her?"

She nodded, looking into Tai's eyes to show she was serious about it. She told him, "if her name is also Ruby Rose, then yes. I… I'm really not sure why we look the same or share the same name, but I swear to you that I'm telling the truth. I have not lied to you once during our conversations, both the one from last night and this one."

The man hung his head and sighed in response, working over the apparent Ruby's statement, before suddenly lifting his head back up and looking the girl in the eye. Resigned, he said, "okay, and this might be a mistake, but I'm going to choose to believe you. However, I can't call you Ruby. It would just… it would just get a bit too confusing, you know? Is there something else I can call you?"

"Hm," the girl put a finger to her chin and tilted her head. She reached a decision and nodded to herself. Ruby then said, "how about Rue? It's a nickname my friends back home gave me. Different enough that you shouldn't get me confused with your daughter."

"Rue, huh?" Tai said as he scratched his chin. "Alright, that works. Nice to meet you, Rue."

She laughed and said, "it's nice to meet you as well, Tai."

He chuckled before getting a bit more serious and asking, "now, since I'm choosing to believe you, what are these 'lost' that you kept mentioning before? Since you're from a different world, hopefully we won't have to deal with them, but might be good to know about."

"Ah," the girl started. She glanced around, thinking about how she wanted to do this, before she nodded to herself and said, "The Lost are Revenants like me that have lost their sanity. Remember when I said that as long as I kept the parasite fed that I would keep my sanity? Well, they're what results when the host doesn't keep them fed. It completely takes over the host and drastically alters the body." She let that sink in for a moment before she continued, "however, you're right. Since I seem to be on a different world and you've never heard of Revenants before, I don't think you'll have to worry about any lost. They're unkillable anyway, so that's definitely a good thing."

"Rue, how many times are you going to just drop information like this on me? Both yesterday and today, you've been telling me things I really don't think I wanted to know. Unkillable monsters? The fact that you could become one if you don't get enough blood? I mean come on, _that _has to be a joke." Tai said, leaning forward and placing his head in his hands as he did.

"Sorry to say, Tai, but no," the girl said gently. "You don't have to worry about me though. The air here is a lot cleaner than the miasma I'm used to, and as long as I get enough blood every month or so, I won't become a lost. Still, they weren't all bad though. The Lost _could_ be killed temporarily. Trust me, that helped a lot. It's just that they'd just turn to mist and reform in the same area later. Plus, as long as you didn't attract their attention, then they wouldn't really bother you."

The man's blue eyes peeked up at the girl. He once more let out a sigh and then sat back into the couch again. "Well," he started, "at least we don't have to worry about that. I'll definitely see if I can't get you some blood though… Grimm are bad enough. We don't need an immortal monster on top of that."

Before he could say more, an alarm sounded throughout the room. Rue looked around in panic, wondering if these so called "Grimm" were approaching. Tai however, while surprised by the noise, wasn't bothered by it and pulled a glass device out of his pocket. After interacting with it for a moment, the alarm turned off.

"Well, as much fun as it would be to hear more about the horrors from your world, Rue, that noise meant it's time for me to head out. Got a mission that needs taking care of, and as much as I believe you, we only met yesterday, kid. I don't trust you enough to let you watch the house while I'm gone." He stopped a second and continued, "I know I offered to take you into town yesterday, so I'll make good on that now. However, I'm going to have my brother in law meet us." He smirked and joked, "don't want a not-vampire running around terrorizing the town."

"Hah, alright. I guess that's fine," the girl laughed. She lost her mirth after a second though, and said, "as long as I don't have to convince him that I'm _not _actually going to terrorize anyone."

Tai smirked in response and stood up. As if he just remembered something, he turned around with a strained smile, "oh, and uh, just try not to flash those fangs around and you'll be fine."

The girl flashed a relieved smile and said, "that's fine, I've got my Purifier Mask on me!" She lifted the device and showed it off to the man. It would cover her mouth just fine. That was it's purpose after all.

Tai was silent for a second before shaking his head. "I'm not sure if that's any better, kid, but I guess it works. A gas mask will just earn you some stares. Anyway, come on, I'll lock up and then we can hit the road."

"Sounds good, _kiddo_," the girl smirked. Seeing Tai's blank stare, the girl laughed and explained, "I said the parasite brought me back to life, right? Well, I've been a Revenant for a _long_ while, so I might actually be older than you, you know?"

"… I'm not even going to question it at this point," the man replied. "However, you know how it'll look in town if you start calling me a kid, right?"

Rue laughed and replied, "of course. Just wanted to do it this once, I promise."

Tai shook his head and said, "sure… just get that sword of yours in the truck and we'll go."

The girl nodded and then laughed as she walked out the door.

'_Seriously,_' Tai thought to himself as he watched the girl leave, '_isn__'t Qrow the one with the bad luck? How'd I end up in this situation?_' While thinking about the answer to that question, he went around and locked up the cabin like he said he would. Not many people would disturb his house, he knew that, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Meanwhile, the girl was standing in front of her sword. It was still right where she had left it last night, not that she had actually expected it to disappear considering how much it weighed. She doubted there'd be many in this world who would be able to lift the thing considering she seemed to be the only Revenant here. Snickering at the thought, she pulled the blade from the ground with a single hand.

Bracing the blade against her shoulder like she had last night, Rue approached the nearby truck. She set the blade down gently, not knowing whether or not the truck would be able to handle it. Fortunately though, when she deposited the blade in the truck, the bed only sank a small amount. It wouldn't be enough to cause any issues for Tai.

With that done, the girl looked back at the cabin one last time to see if Taiyang was on his way. Seeing that he was on what looked like the last door of the house, she hopped over to the passenger side and tested the door. Since it was unlocked, she hopped in and waited.

It wasn't long after that Tai entered, eyeing how that sword of Rue's was weighing down his truck before he did, and the two started their journey to the island's harbor.

They were headed to Vale, a town in the middle of the Vytal Festival celebration…

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hopefully this chapter cleared up some questions people had. However, if it didn't, then I will just go ahead and say here that the protagonist of this story, Ruby Rose, is not the Ruby Rose from Remnant.

This story started as a prompt from a friend. Since I customized my character in Code Vein to look like Ruby (and even named her Ruby at that), my friend suggested that I drop my character into Remnant mainly so that she could walk up to the cabin and get arrested for looking like the true Ruby. I ended up not calling the cops on the protagonist, but that was the inspiration and situation behind this story. To clarify, Ruby Rose, the protagonist of RWBY, did not go to Code Vein and come back. This is the protagonist of Code Vein, who did not go anywhere and just happens to share a name and look with Ruby. Before you ask, yes. I do plan on having Rue meet Ruby.

As for the idea that this is actually Summer, as stated above, that is not the case. Not to say that the idea is bad by any means. In fact, with the way Code Vein works, that would be a fantastic idea. Like SmartIdiot said in their review, since Revenants forget who they were, it would be easy to have Summer focus solely on her daughter to the point that she forgets her own name, and so introduces herself as Ruby. Again though, while I love the idea, that is not the case for this story.


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